Captn. Wallis on his arrival at O'Taheite, in conversation with Oberea the Queen, while her attendants are performing a favourite Dance called the Timrodee

1782

From the collection of Victoria and Albert Museum

Dominant colour

Captn. Wallis on his arrival at O'Taheite, in conversation with Oberea the Queen, while her attendants are performing a favourite Dance called the Timrodee is a 1782 by Hamilton, a Romanticism work, held at Victoria and Albert Museum.

Who painted this?: Hamilton
When & what style?: 1782 · Romanticism
Where can I see it?: Victoria and Albert Museum

About this work

This print shows Captain Samuel Wallis meeting Queen Oberea in Tahiti. The scene mixes a formal chat with lively dancing in the background. It’s an engraving made for a geography book. The dance called the Timrodee was so popular locals performed it for visitors. The artist reused the image in several books. If you like this mix of travel and culture, look up the Victoria and Albert Museum.

The story of this work

Overview

The engraving depicts Captain Samuel Wallis meeting Queen Oberea of Tahiti, with three semi-nude women performing a dance called the Timrodee accompanied by flute and drum. To the right, the seated queen and Wallis converse in 18th-century attire, while additional semi-nude attendants stand behind them. The scene is titled beneath the image and was engraved by Morris after Hamilton for Millar’s *New Complete Universal System of Geography* (1782). The print later entered the museum as part of the Cyril Beaumont Bequest.

Read the full account in the museum source.